Back then, Li Fei was still young and naive. She thought it was just camaraderie between friends and felt deeply moved. However, even with Lei Xiuyuan accompanying her, entering the unlit Archive Tower in the dead of night was still terrifying. She tried to be strong, forcing herself not to show any signs of fear, but when they came out, she realized she had wrinkled Lei Xiuyuan’s sleeve beyond recognition. He hadn’t said anything, nor had he pushed her away.
At that moment, she felt quite embarrassed, so she tried to act natural and said to him, “I wasn’t really scared… it’s just a bit dark inside. You see… it’s too dark to see the path, so I had to hold onto you to avoid getting separated.”
Lei Xiuyuan calmly responded with an “Oh,” then looked down at his sleeve and said with a half-smile, “You’ve got quite a strong grip.”
Li Fei laughed nervously, “Haha, I’ve always been strong… About your clothes, I’m really sorry. I’ll mend them for you later.”
She thought he would happily agree, but he just pulled his sleeve together and said coolly, “No need. If you mend it, it’ll just get torn again next time. I feel tired for it already.”
What did he mean by “torn again next time”? At that time, she was furious, thinking he was mocking her for being a coward. But now that she thought about it, it was just his awkward way of expressing that he was willing to accompany her to return books to the Archive Tower again.
Lei Xiuyuan was always like this. He never directly expressed his wishes, nor had he ever said any sweet words to her. He was both awkward and persistent.
But everything he did for her, she saw with her own eyes and remembered in her heart. She wasn’t a heartless woman, and at this point, she could truly feel whether a man genuinely loved her or not.
“Want to sneak in and take a look again?” Li Fei turned around and, just like six years ago, reached out to grab his sleeve.
Lei Xiuyuan slowly walked up to her, lightly patted her head, and chuckled, “You think you’re still ten years old?”
“Let’s do it secretly,” Li Fei, like him, locked all her spiritual energy fluctuations within her body. She looked up at him and waved her hand, “Not bad, right?”
Lei Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow critically, “Barely passable.”
This man never said anything nice. Li Fei pinched him hard, and he immediately retaliated by pinching her waist. She almost cried out from the ticklish sensation, but he had already covered her mouth with his hand.
The Archive Tower was still unlit, pitch black to the point where one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face. Countless books were stored here, and the use of candles or immortal techniques was strictly forbidden within the tower to prevent accidental burning of the archives.
Just like when she was a child, Li Fei felt her way forward along the contours of the giant stone bookshelves. Six years had passed, but the layout here hadn’t changed at all. The third shelf on the left was still a bit crooked, and one would accidentally bump into it if not careful. Following the small, narrow, and extremely steep spiral staircase to the second floor, Li Fei bumped her head on the wall many times. When she was younger, she could navigate this area smoothly, but now that she had grown taller, she kept hitting her head.
“Did you bump your head?” she asked softly.
Lei Xiuyuan didn’t respond. Li Fei was surprised and reached back with her hand, but felt nothing. She called out quietly, “Xiuyuan?”
After a moment, Lei Xiuyuan’s voice came from not far ahead: “Are you scared?”
Li Fei walked towards the sound but found nothing again. He had suppressed his spiritual energy fluctuations, making it impossible to detect even the slightest trace of him in the darkness. She couldn’t use her immortal techniques either, as any spiritual energy movement would immediately alert the immortals in the academy that they were still here. She frowned, “Where are you?”
A soft breath tickled the back of her neck, and Lei Xiuyuan’s voice was right by her ear: “Over here.”
She reached back to grab him, but still couldn’t catch him. This guy, playing tricks at a time like this! Li Fei decided to just keep walking forward, “I’m not scared. I’m not a child anymore. I can make it to the top by myself.”
He laughed from not far away, “Really?”
“Really!”
She made her way up to the ninth floor in one go, feeling that everything around her was eerily quiet. Except for the sound of her own breathing, it was so silent that even a pin dropping would sound like a thunderclap. She couldn’t help but call out softly, “…Xiuyuan? Did you really not come up?”
Still no sound.
“You little brat…” Li Fei grumbled, somewhat irritated.
The next moment, someone patted her head, and Lei Xiuyuan seemed to have appeared out of nowhere: “Who’s a little brat?”
She grabbed him immediately and hugged him tightly, laughing, “Got you at last.”
He didn’t dodge. His long hair, which had come undone at some point, brushed against her cheek. Li Fei instinctively reached out to touch his head, her fingertips finding the two slender black horns on the sides of his head. She tried to gently pinch them, but her wrist was immediately seized and forced behind her back.
“Are you afraid?” Lei Xiuyuan asked in a low voice.
“Of what?” Li Fei raised her head, trying to see his face in the darkness.
His voice was so low it was almost a murmur: “Of the Yaksha, and that curse.”
The Fruit of Jianmu almost never had a good ending. This species, inextricably linked with the Yaksha tribe, was often the target of mutual attacks during the struggle among the Yakshas. The most tragic ones were often dismembered by the crazed Yakshas, while the luckier ones merely lost all freedom and were absolutely imprisoned. It had nothing to do with love, just a pure and extreme possessiveness.
After hearing what Hu Jiaping said, why could she still approach him without any reaction?
Li Fei also lowered her voice: “Why would I be afraid of you?”
Lei Xiuyuan laughed again, lowering his head to bump his forehead against hers: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll cut you into pieces?”
Li Fei retorted fearlessly: “I haven’t shed my shell yet! When I decide to shed it, if you try anything, I’ll absorb all your spiritual energy. You alone, can you beat me?”
He sighed softly: “I beg for mercy, Big Sis.”
Hearing him use that embarrassing childhood nickname again, Li Fei burst out laughing. His hands, which had been restraining her wrists, slowly loosened, and instead, he gently embraced her, murmuring, “Perhaps I should thank the Qingcheng Immortal too.”
Losing his memories and becoming Lei Xiuyuan, these short eighteen years were more enduring in his heart than the long years of the past. Hu Jiaping was right; at least he had lived like a human, not a Yaksha driven mad by the curse.
Li Fei wrapped her arms around his neck and said softly, “When the heavenly thunder and sea of fire come, will you go overseas with me? I want to retrace all the places my master once walked, and then go see Jianmu.”
“You’re not coming back?”
Would she come back? She didn’t know the answer to this question herself. There were countless things here that she was attached to, but she couldn’t live the so-called “reborn” life as carefree as Hu Jiaping. He had memories of the past, so he felt fortunate to escape the nightmare-like former life. But she was different; her earliest memories were of being with her master. She still couldn’t come to terms with her master’s tragic death. She had even thought about killing all the immortals of Wuyue Palace and then fleeing overseas.
But that wasn’t what her master would have wanted. If she really did that, it would also deeply hurt those who had shown her various forms of warmth in the past.
“My perspective is still too narrow,” she said slowly. “If I can see more of the scenery my master once saw, walk the paths he walked, I think I might understand him better. I’ll make a decision then.”
Lei Xiuyuan said calmly, “He didn’t go to many places.”
There he goes again! Li Fei laughed and pinched his horn: “Then will you lead the way?”
He tilted his head and clicked his tongue: “Don’t touch it.”
I will touch it! She firmly grasped his two horns. Lei Xiuyuan’s arms around her immediately tightened, making her feel as if her ribs were about to break. She couldn’t help but cry out in pain, but he didn’t loosen his grip. One of his hands threaded through her hair as he sighed softly, “If you don’t let go, I really will cut you into pieces.”
“Really?” She simply rubbed the horns with her fingertips.
He gripped her chin, and his lips fell heavily on hers. It was still somewhat different from their previous kisses, savage as if he wanted to devour her. Li Fei felt as if she was being embedded into his chest. His tongue swept over each of her teeth before finally discovering her tongue, the two intertwining and rubbing against each other. This kiss was filled with the taste of desire.
Li Fei’s already weak struggle became even more feeble. Unlike his outwardly elegant and aloof appearance that seemed to look down on everything, Lei Xiuyuan could be terrifyingly bold and unrestrained when they were alone. His moist, hot lips roamed and nibbled on her lips over and over again, slowly moving downward. He bit her collar to the sides, leaving various marks on her neck and chest.
Her belt had been undone by him at some point, and his hand slipped inside her undergarment, hungrily kneading her body. Li Fei tried hard to avoid it, repeatedly saying, “Wait! Wait!”
Lei Xiuyuan seemed not to hear. She had started it first, how could he wait now?
“This is the Archive Tower!” Li Fei finally reminded him in a trembling voice as his hand pressed against her chest.
His breathing was heavy, his voice hoarse, unclear whether he was suppressing anger or desire: “…You let go first.”
Li Fei reluctantly released the two slender horns on the sides of his head. Lei Xiuyuan angrily pulled open her undergarment, then closed and tidied it up amidst her soft exclamations of surprise. Then he smoothed out her messy outer garments, seemingly with contained anger, before forcefully tying her belt into a tight knot.
“Next time you do this, I’ll take you right on the spot,” he said, bumping his forehead against hers hard.
Li Fei frowned, “I can’t touch them at all?”
Lei Xiuyuan was silent for a long while before saying, “Occasionally, it’s fine.”
Was he being shy? Li Fei found it somewhat amusing. She leaned against his chest, listening to his gradually steadying heartbeat, and said, “Let’s not go back to Wuyue Palace, okay?”
Leaving without saying goodbye was too much. Master Chongyi and Senior Sister Zhaomin would certainly be very worried, but even if she saw them now, she had nothing to say. If Immortal Cuixuan learned of her identity, they might all be in trouble. It was the same for Gelin and the others; the less they knew about her, the safer they would be.
“Before we go overseas, let’s make a trip back to Qingqiu,” she said. To see the Ganhua Realm and the small courtyard in Qingqiu.
Lei Xiuyuan said softly, “Do you want to go to the Yimin Tomb?” The body of the Qingcheng Immortal might still be there.
Li Fei suddenly looked up at him, “Can we?”
He just smiled and gently patted her cheek.